What petrol do i put in a 1989 bx 16v

james cartledge · Post by **james cartledge** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 9:21 pm

I konow this may sound silly but its been around 8 years since i owned a bx 16v and i used to run my 16v,s on lrp which was a red petrol pump back then

i,m due to pick a 1989f plate 16v this week and id like to know if i can run it on unleaded or if i have to find a petrol station that still has lrp available

im sure you guys will know the answer

cheers
james

mds141 · Post by **mds141** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 9:28 pm

Well done James the car looks good. Collecting mine from the bodyshop this week after some refurb work. It's a look-a-like of yours same year and in white. On to fuel been running mine on super un-leaded as the engine was designed to run on 98 ron four star. Had no problems so far. Try Lancaster for your insurance mine was £75 fully comp.

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 9:36 pm

Maybe a shot of 'lead' additive (Castrol do one)?

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 9:59 pm

Pretty sure that standard 95 unleaded is fine on all bx petrols inc mk1's, unless anyone knows different?

johnbird · Post by **johnbird** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 10:28 pm

the 98 ron would be a waste of money if the car is mapped to 95 ron.
the roadster will run fine on 95 ron but is mapped to run on 98 so it is improved when run on 98. a non turbo motor may run a little cooler i suppose but i dont think you will see any performance gains. i may be wrong though..........

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 10:45 pm

If memory serves me correctly the BX 16 Valve has a differant engine manufacturer to the Pug engines fitted to the BX 16 and 19.

The BX 16 and 19 are designed to run on minimum 95 octane unleaded even the phase 1 the exception being the 14 pre 1988.

From memory the BX16valve should run on no lower than 97 Octane although the BXs I have seen in NZ were running on 95 octane prior to the arrival of 98 in 2003.

I can not say for certain but if memory serves me all cars built in europe after 1988 were designed to be able to run on unleaded, Rovers were one of the last car manufacturers to build cars not capable of running unleaded fuels.

Pretty sure that someone who owns a 16valve here will be able to give you a better answer than us none 16valve BX owners can.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 11:52 pm

The only thing i noticed running my 8valve gti occasionally on the higher octane fuel was that it ran a bit queiter & seemed slightly smoother & that was about it. It may very well have a slight performance advantage, but we are talking about a 10th or 2 at the most, so basically its a waste of time. Might be worth using a tankful before an mot is due & doing an italian tuneup, but not worth the money imho. Never had a car optomised for higher octane fuel, so can't comment on that.

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:16 am

I wish I had kept my fuel guides from the days when people were comonly asking this question on grade of fuel to use.

So is LRP no longer available in the UK?

RobC · Post by **RobC** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:56 am

if it's a bx16v 1989 model it will have the motronic ML4.1 system, which doesn't include a 'knock sensor' to adjust the timing to suit different grades of fuel. this feature came in with motronic M1.3 in 1991.

therefore it will definitely run more smoothly on higher octane stuff but you won't damage it by running it on 95 (and you'll lose a bit of performance).

Post by **docchevron** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 1:46 am

Super plus only.
D6C's were designed to run on leaded 4 star only.
Until the catted DFW arrived.
Yes, you can run them on 95 unleaded, but you'll loose some performance, and if you rag it often you'll burn the valves and seats out.

V-Power 99RON or Tesco 99RON is ok, certainly I've had no issues with either, and thats the only fuels I've used in my valver since I built the engine.

The head that came off it when I bought the car had serious pitting on the inlets and all the exhausts were burnt out, and it had been run on 95 for years.

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 6:47 am

What about VSR Doc? If the car has not had its head off and valves replaced with hardened valve seats then is that not a problem to not use a lead additive that LRP has or had?

Matt H · Post by **Matt H** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 9:18 am

I use either V-Power or Tesco 99 wherever possible, but I have used lower grades on the odd occasion. Not a problem every now and again, or if you are skint ect... but just stick to the good stuff where possible, and you won't have any problems. If I'd spent a lot of money on an engine rebuild, then I would probably religiously use 99 too!

I've still got a white Phase 1 as well. We need to start our own club...

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 9:53 am

Matt H wrote:I've still got a white Phase 1 as well. We need to start our own club...

Splitter!

Matt H · Post by **Matt H** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 10:07 am

"This isn't the 'BX 16valve white Phase 1 club'... It's the 'White Phase 1 BX GTI 16v club"

Kitch · Post by **Kitch** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:26 pm

I run mine on 95RON during the normal commuting, but usually stick 98/99 in it if I'm going on a run or know I'm going to be tanning it a bit. Never noticed a difference between the fuels, other than the 95RON can pink a bit in really hot weather, but that's only since I chipped it.